Books published by Forumpress

During the past twenty years the British discussion of European issues has increasingly lost contact with reality or rationality. Wilful ignorance, political opportunism and media manipulation have unrecognizably distorted the European debate in the United Kingdom. Even those in theory favourable to a central and constructive British role in the European Union have found themselves endorsing many of the premises of their opponents. In this short book, British attitudes to the European Union, particularly those of the media and political classes, will be critically reviewed. The authors conclude that Britain's position within the Union is currently in great jeopardy; and that those who sincerely wish to ward off this danger need fundamentally to reconsider the political tactics and rhetoric they have employed until now.

Meltdown UK is the story of how Britain's leaders - from Thatcher to Blair - through arrogance and recklessness turned Britain into an 'island experiment' for global finance and 'market madness'. It all came crashing down in the great banking crisis - and we are now paying the price. Following his prescient warnings in his earlier books, The Super-Rich (in 2000) and Meltdown (in 2008) Stephen Haseler, in this latest work, draws the lessons from the crisis. Whilst our political class are paralysed, playing by the rules of the old, failed, system - by cutting deficits and the public sector - he points to 'another way'. He argues that: - Global financial 'markets' caused the crisis, and now no longer function. They need to be confronted by governments, not appeased. - Britain should end its two decades-long big business-led hatred of government, public service, the public sector and the 'big state'. - Britain's elites need to end their love affair with the mega-rich and unearned privilege, and instead create a much more equal society by redistributing wealth. - In order to survive, Britain needs to be part of a bigger political union, a wider grouping of countries, and the only one on offer is Europe. COMMENTS ON STEPHEN HASELER'S MELTDOWN: 'A great book...superb insight into the origins of the global meltdown' PROFESSOR LORD SKIDELSKY, AUTHOR OF KEYNES 'I enjoyed the book...Absolutely right to point out that the debt mountain is the result of globalisation' LARRY ELLIOTT, ECONOMICS EDITOR, THE GUARDIAN